A Study Of The Documents About Anti-Japanese Pirates During The Jiajing Reign In Ming Dynasty

The problem about the perils of the Japanese pirates was one of the gravest foreign aggressions among more than two hundred years in Ming Dynasty. This problem became especially serious till the Jiajing reign. The invasion of the Japanese pirates was extremely rampant than ever. As a grave event related to the politic and military affairs of the Jiajing reign, problems about the perils of the Japanese pirates were taken into consideration in all kinds of documents. Documents about resisting Japanese pirates, which were used to instruct the anti-Japanese pirates war and declare views of resisting Japanese pirates, turned out new characteristics. The writers of the: documents about resisting Japanese pirates in the Jiajing reign concluded the Jiajing Emperor, the military officers, the supervisor officials, the literati and noble-minded patriots in the folk. The Emperor’s edicts of anti-Japanese pirates claimed the policy: of the imperial government from the perspectives of prohibiting overseas trade, combing out government officials and self-improvement on coast defense, which reflected the emperor’s broad and long-term view. The military officers’writings of: anti-Japanese pirates, involving affairs pre the war, during the war and after the war, aimed to arrange specific activities about resisting Japanese pirates. Their writings reflected their great military talents. The writings of the supervisor officials remarked on the anti-Japanese pirates affairs from the economic, ideological and political perspectives. Their writings focused on the management and discipline, trying to promote the anti-Japanese pirates war effectively with the abundant strategies. The active participance in the folk reflected the feelings of the people and the public wisdom when the nation suffered a national resistance activity. As for the writing characteristics, the Emperor’s edicts tended to present confidence and determination on behalf of the supreme governor. The edicts had clear intentions with a hash tone. The military officers’writings tended to be more practical and natural, emphasized on the force of the words and the emotions, and stated bluntly. Hu Zongxian, Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou were A-list officers at that time. Their writings of anti-Japanese pirates had high value in both the contents and the writing styles. The writings of the supervisor officials had a more diversified perspectives, focusing much on the management and less on the military. Some writings seemed to be empty, only aiming to make arguments. Thus, some writings became tools for political struggle. In the folk, the literati and noble-minded patriots had personally gone through the afflicted situation caused by the Japanese pirates, which formed their depth of feelings about the conditions in the severely afflicted areas. Their writings of anti-Japanese pirates revealed the disasters brought by the Japanese pirates, expressed their points of views on the anti-Japanese pirates war, which reflected strong spirits of the times. The documents about anti-Japanese pirates reflected the anti-Japanese pirates war. Meanwhile, the documents further promoted the war and the writings of the same style in the future time. From the documents about anti-Japanese pirates in the Jiajing reign, we could understand the social environment at that time. The documents about anti-Japanese pirates involved multiple elements, which was a potential cultural treasure to be sustainably developed.